I’m not what you’d call a die hard fan of rhythm games, but there have been occasions where I’ve been quite intrigued with the concept – Thumpies (TMA Review) comes to mind in this regards. I’m proud to say that I can now add Groove Coaster to that small list of games. As I’ve been playing this new release from Taito I’ve tried to wrap my mind around how to describe it, and the truth is it’s not all that easy. However you want to look at it, though, it’s one of the most engaging rhythm games I’ve ever played. The best part is that even when you don’t care for the tracks, the game is still fun.

For those of us who prefer using songs as ringtones, we have all tried many times to create the necessary files to sync to iTunes so that they will work on the iPhone. With GeoRing however, there is no more work to be done but choosing the song and where exactly you’d like the ringtone to begin. Thanks to this handy app, users will soon be able to create their favorite ringtones within minutes.

If anything came too late to Apple’s iDevice line, it was proper equalisers. EQu blew me away, but the App Store’s first equaliser, Equalizer, only really nudges my inner audiophile that can get by Equalizer’s gamey interface.

It’s funny: I’ve been taught not to bite the hand that feeds you, but Apple have fed music-loving fans like me the merest of crumbs for so since 2007 that I long to sink my finely manicured fangs into something fruity. Gapless, lossless, and great headphone performance are just niceties for the regular Johan who wants to pump up the jam on his Justin Bieber collection without hitting distortion’s ugly overhead. For that crowd (and me), audio app developer, elephantcandy, have delivered EQu – the quality equalizer.

algoriddim, developers of the award-winning djay for Mac, have now released the fully featured djayapp for the iPad. Utilizing the iPad’s 10″ screen and music stored within your library, you can finally scratch and mix all your favorite tunes just about anywhere.

djay transforms your iPad into a full–fledged DJ system and seamlessly integrates with your iTunes music library, giving you direct access to all your favorite tracks and playlists. A hyper–realistic touchscreen interface and ultra low–latency converge to offer you a true professional mixing experience, all with your own music. You can perform live, record mixes on–the–go, or enable Automix mode and let djay mix your favorite playlist from your iPod library auto–magically!

With unprecedented ease–of–use and innovative multi–touch mixing features, djay for iPad brings DJ’ing to the next level, offering a unique experience for beginners and professionals alike.

djay is actually the second iTunes app released by algoriddim. Their first, djay Remote ($4.99), was released earlier this year and allows iPhone and iPod Touch users to interact with the djay 3 software runningon their Macs. Check out the demo video and full press release after the gap.

Yesterday, Apple boldly posted the announcement “Tomorrow is just another day. That you’ll never forget.” on their website. This prompted many to believe that Apple was gearing up for the launch of the hotly rumored iTunes Live Streaming service. Alas, that will have to wait. After years of trademark lawsuits and various delays, the entire Beatles catalog is now at long last available on iTunes.

“We’re really excited to bring the Beatles’ music to iTunes,” said Sir Paul McCartney. “It’s fantastic to see the songs we originally released on vinyl receive as much love in the digital world as they did the first time around.”

“I am particularly glad to no longer be asked when the Beatles are coming to iTunes,” said Ringo Starr. “At last, if you want it—you can get it now—The Beatles from Liverpool to now! Peace and Love, Ringo.”

“We love the Beatles and are honored and thrilled to welcome them to iTunes,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “It has been a long and winding road to get here. Thanks to the Beatles and EMI, we are now realizing a dream we’ve had since we launched iTunes ten years ago.”

All 13 of the Beatles’ original albums can be purchased for $12.99 a pop, include A Hard Day’s Night, Let It Be, Help! and Yellow Submarine. Or, you can simply pick up the entire Beatles Box Set for $149.99. With the holidays quickly approaching, this should make for a nice iTunes gift, especially for those who grew up listening to the iconic band.

Shortly after Apple posted their App Review Guidelines to Developers, we started to see apps that have previously been denied make their way into the App Store. First came Google Voice apps like GV Connect and GV Mobile +. Now, custom ringtone apps have followed suit and one of the more promising ones appears to be RingtoneMaker Pro ($0.99). The app even allows users to apply pitch-shifting and time-scaling for some real wacky and original sounds. Here are the features for the Pro version:

Select a song from your iPod library for editing.

Select the starting time and ending time with a maximum length of 30 seconds.

Apply advanced effects – pitch shifting and time scaling.

Preview the ringtone and save it.

Ringtones could be exported via iTunes file sharing.

RingtoneMaker also comes as a Free download, without the advanced effects and it has a limit of 20 secs per ringtone. If you’re looking to create your own Beiber ringtones on your iPhone without dropping a dime, this is definitely the way to go. There are some device requirements however. The app will only run on iPhone 3GS/iPhone 4 and you’ll need to be on iOS 4.0 or later. Video on how to “install” created ringtones back into your iPhone after the break. (thanks to Apple’s app restrictions)

With yesterday’s iPad VLC release and now Napster, iOS devices are receiving a fair amount of big, multimedia press. Of course, this isn’t the Napster you grew up with as a shifty-eyed teenager at the end of the 90’s. Napster was bought by Best Buy back in 2008 in one of the better ironic moments in history. Anyway, it’s back, and evidently, it’s out to turn up the sleeves of rental P2P music sharing – if you’re in the US of A, that is. And if you can stomach the “awful” sound quality. Napster reckon they stream both new and old tracks in 128kbps (a number that still carries the stigma of poor sound), but its customers reckon that music sounds like the radio. If Nappy wants to get its mojo on, it’s gonna have to dish out at least 128kpbs sounding files in a music app! But then, what’s Napster without complaints from audiophiles?

For the uninitiated:

Some of the things you can do with Napster plus mobile access:

• Save songs, albums, and playlists to play even when you’re offline • Kick back with playlists, recommendations, and Billboard® charts dating back to 1955 • Create your own playlists for a customized listening experience • Save your last 100 songs played so you can easily replay favorites • Automix your favorite song to create an instant playlist blending similar artists

Sweet news from Line 6. The MIDI Memo Recorder is a free piece of software which saves custom midi interface settings and records sessions to the iDevice. This ain’t another class lecture interface, it is a professional touring/recording software/hardware interface for musicians. MIDI has been a longtime standard in effects mastering and creation for many musicians. The best part now, however, is that it goes mobile and even works as a backup settings organiser in case of gear breakage. While the software can be downloaded now, the MIDI Mobilizer hardware attachment won’t be available till “Spring 2010” – gotcha…

San Francisco, CA – Wonder Warp Software, makers of Mac and iPhone productivity app ShoveBox, today announced the immediate availability of Etude 1.0, a new iPhone and iPod touch application for learning music on the piano. Etude combines traditional sheet music with an on-screen keyboard, whose keys light up to reveal which notes are being played, as well as a MIDI synthesizer that simultaneously plays the piece aloud.